Time is running and we are already looking back on another eventful year 2022. Corona has taken a bit of a back seat, we were able to attend a few events again and the team also got together live after some time. On the product side, we have focused our efforts even more on the business market and have taken some key functionalities live this year for a working DMS. Also, there are now some features that our users have been asking for.
In total, we have already convinced ~5,000 business customers of fileee and now count ~240,000 users by the end of 2022. Our users set another record this year and digitized 2.3 million documents.
Right at the beginning of the year, our new fileeeBox sets are finally finished and arrived at our new shipping provider. We and the many customers who have been waiting for their pre-orders are happy and the shipping is picking up speed. The new set shines with a new connector on USB and mini USB, eliminating the need for the large power adapter. We also added a new magnet to the outside of the box, so there's no need to remove the lid to put documents in the box. You can find more info here →
Also in January we have provided a new feature for maintaining the contact list in fileee. You can now merge multiple contacts or extract an address from a contact and make it your own contact. You can find more details about this function in our help center, which we have filled with information throughout the year 2022. All new functions are explained there in detail. To the help center →
In February, we directly brought the next long-awaited feature to the web app. It is now possible after entering a search or filtering documents to select several or all documents of the search result and simultaneously change the metadata such as sender, tags, note or similar.
In addition, we have created a way to easily compare multiple documents in a table. Again, you can select multiple documents and then select "Compare documents".
In February, our news also received a new design and is now even clearer. You can read more details about all updates of the year here: fileee Updates.
Exactly one year ago we launched fileeeDIY and since then we have sold several thousand fileeeDIYs. Back then, it only took 4 weeks from the first idea to the launch of the finished solution. We are happy that our low-budget box alternative has been so well received by you and that some of your file folders have now become smart as well.
Our first business customers also requested this feature from us, but fileee Pay has also been making it easier for private customers to pay bills since April. fileee recognizes the bank details and generates a giro code (QR code), which can then be quickly scanned via the banking app. This makes payment super fast and more secure than via third-party apps.
Everything is new in May - our app has been given a complete facelift and now shines in a new design (like the web app last year). Above all, this is the preparation for some new features that we will bring to the apps in the coming year. In the background, for this apparently minor change, our entire codebase has been rebuilt and converted into a new language. In the future, this will allow our Android and iOS developers to work together even better.
However, we will continue to offer a few functions only in our web application(http://my.fileee.com ), since some functions simply work much better on the big screen. So it's worth trying out fileee on a laptop as well.
With the new image enhancement, color pages are now relatively enhanced and compressed in fileee. In addition, unwanted shadows and artifacts are better reduced and often even completely removed, as are creases. Compared to competitors and our previous version, we now perform much better here. The overall image of the document is much clearer and easier to read with the new image enhancement. This is especially beneficial for text recognition: compared to before, we achieve a 38% better recognition rate of the text and data in the document.
Want to see the difference for yourself? We have created a comparison page for you, where you can compare different enhancements for several documents: compare directly by yourself →
In the middle of the year, fileee revolves around one of our core functions - the search. Visually, it is now much more streamlined, but at the same time offers more customization options. Using the full text recognition, any document can be found quickly in fileee. New are especially the many new filter options, which also work without any search term. For example, the "type" filter can be used to search for invoices and even a specific invoice amount. These and other filter options that we now enable have also been especially requested by business users in support.
Those who have also diligently archived and tagged documents in fileee will, for example, be very happy about new linking options in the tag filter. Previously, it was only possible to select several tags, which then all had to be located on the document. Now there are also "contains one or more of the selected tags" as well as "does not contain the selected tags". This gives you even more options to differentiate documents using tags.
In 2022, it got really hot in the summer months. Actually very nice, but without air conditioning in the home office sometimes hard to bear. For the first time since Corona, we had several team members in the office during the summer, since we installed a temporary air conditioning system there. Some people also missed the shared lunches and the office atmosphere. 🧑💻
Fittingly, the upper floor of our office has been renovated and we have now also sublet part of the space to a marketing agency in Münster, so we will have more life in our office in the middle of beautiful Münster again.
At fileee we are simply 100% flexible and mostly remote. This year, the most beautiful office was set up in a caravan in Tuscany, with a pool instead of air conditioning. Our support team colleague grabbed the fileeeBot and advised our customers from there.
No updates in July and August? Actually, we worked longer than planned on the function that we were finally able to make available to you in September. fileee now supports business customers in GOBD-compliant filing. No less than three new features help entrepreneurs with legally compliant archiving. With the history of documents, every change can be tracked.
In addition, the original document, which reflects the document at the time of upload, can be used to verify that a document has not been changed or that its message has not been falsified.
Audit-proof storage completes the trio and ensures that documents cannot be deleted or edited for a period of 6 or 10 years. This also helps to keep track of retention periods and, together with the other functions, enables users to build up GOBD-compliant archiving.
On our website, we have started to collect knowledge on the subject of digitization and to explain it briefly and simply. The topics GOBD and audit-proof archiving are the start here and will be supplemented with new topics bit by bit. Feel free to check back regularly.
In October, we established webinars as a new format at fileee. Our Co-Founder and CEO Marius invites fileee customers to share their experiences and use cases with fileee and give helpful advice to new customers as well as answer any questions. So far we have hosted and recorded 3 webinars live for you, with Aware7 (industry: IT security), with APF Consult (industry: management consulting), with Claudia Hönig (industry: management consulting in healthcare professions). Due to the very good response and the lively participation in the Q&A sessions, we will continue the format next year and have already planned the next webinar with Stadtapotheke Weida on January 17, 2023. You can watch the webinars on-demand at any time → here .
In the fall we had a celebration together with our sister company ThinkOwl, where really all colleagues of the group came together once. A joint barbecue with a great buffet that all colleagues put together was long overdue for everyone. We hope to see everyone again next year.
Together with his ThinkOwl colleagues, Marius also visited several events this year to promote our joint product fileee Conversations. Among other things, we were in Leipzig at the Sustainable Insurance Convention with TEAM79 and our life-sized smartphone surrounded by moss.
Also in the fall, our co-founder Eike duly represented us at the Münster Hack and mentored the teams there.
Shortly before Christmas, of course, we also hosted a Christmas party at our company. With a forest theme, there were vegan cookies in fir tree format with green icing, a forest escape game and we had an oak tree planted for everyone on the team to help with reforestation. 🌳🌳🌳
Also at the end of the year we are in the process of launching more elaborate innovations, which is why we have been busy developing in November and December, but cannot yet present you with any new features in fileee. At the beginning of the new year, several exciting innovations are waiting for you, among others:
We look forward to 2023 and continue to pursue our vision with you - a world without paperwork! 🚀
